Joe caught him and dragged him into the nearest stall. He dumped him on the toilet, locked the door, and listened. The toilet flushed from the stall occupied down the long row. The sound of running water. No sound of anyone else’s entering the restroom. Joe stepped on the toilet, and then pulled himself over the locked door and jumped to the floor. He had been lucky, any number of things could have gone wrong. But they hadn’t gone wrong, and he had rid himself of Lomoto. Now it was time to rid himself of Toller’s man. But this removal would be infinitely more difficult and complex. He straightened his clothes and left the restroom.
Just in time.
Toller’s agent had evidently decided not just to monitor but to investigate. He was walking toward the restroom.
Joe smiled and nodded. “Nice of you to be concerned about me. But I wouldn’t miss this flight.” Then he moved toward the boarding line.
Toller’s agent, Dixon, hesitated, then turned back to watch Joe give his boarding pass to the agent.
Joe hadn’t thought that he’d go into the restroom and investigate the sudden absence of Lomoto. Dixon didn’t give a damn what happened to Salazar’s man, he was only worried about keeping Joe in view.
Joe waved at him as he was given back his boarding pass and headed for the jetway door. Joe knew that he would probably stay there, watching, until the plane took off.
Joe moved slowly down the curving jetway. He’d deliberately waited until almost everyone had boarded before he started. He’d counted on the fact that there would be a last-minute scramble, with the flight attendants scurrying around, finding places for carry-on luggage and serving drinks. It would be the best time to make his move.
“You cut it close,” Rick Stacy growled as Joe rounded the last turn in the jetway. Stacy’s face was almost as green as his baggage handler’s uniform, and he nervously moistened his lips. “We’ve got about five minutes before they shut the baggage doors.”
“Then let’s get moving.” Joe took the green airline jacket that Stacy handed him and put it on. “That should be enough time.” He pulled on the matching cap. “You set up the car for me?”
“Yes. Hertz.” Stacy opened the jetway door that led down to the tarmac and baggage compartment access. “Just get into the truck and keep low. I’ll have you back at the parking lot in ten minutes. When do I get the other half of my money?”
“When I’m sure that you didn’t double-cross me. Not that you would, Stacy. I can tell you’re a fine, upstanding man.” He moved quickly to the truck, opened the passenger door, and jumped in. He glanced up at the windows at the gate. He was on the other side of the plane, and even if Toller’s man was watching, he wouldn’t be able to see him. But his bet was that Dixon was still watching the boarding gate to make sure Joe didn’t come back.
He heard the cargo doors slam, then Stacy was in the truck beside him.
“Down!” Stacy muttered.
Joe slid down in the seat.
A few minutes later, the truck was cruising by the wire-enclosed airline lot that adjoined the regular passenger parking lot.
“Slow down,” Joe said. “I’ll jump out and hide behind those machines until you get back to baggage.”
“My money,” Stacy reminded him.
“I’ll wire it into your bank account once I’m sure of you. This is just the first step for all of us, Stacy.”
But a crucial first step, he thought. Once he got safely away from the Atlanta Airport, he’d drive to Birmingham and board a private jet to Edinburgh.
Seven hours at most and he’d be with Eve.
HILLS OF GAELKAR
“I want to talk to Eve Duncan, Salazar,” Natalie said. “What can it hurt? Just give me ten minutes. She has no way of knowing that I’m involved in the kidnapping. To her, I’d just be a grieving mother as I am to everyone else. I might be able to set a trap for her and Cara. Much better than trying to blunder in and take them.”
“Not everyone is fool enough to believe that you’re what you pretend to be, Natalie,” Salazar said.
“If they don’t, they feel so guilty at being heartless that the effect is the same.” She turned to Franco. “Don’t you think it’s a good idea?”
“Maybe,” he said cautiously. “I don’t know that she would—”
“Never mind.” She waved her hand dismissingly. “You’re so afraid of offending Salazar that you wouldn’t admit I’m right. I forgive you.” She stared down at the mist-shrouded lake hundreds of feet below them. “But then I believe we do need an example to show those people we’re sincere. Perhaps one of those guards we skirted around when we were climbing up this perfectly exhausting mountain?” She smiled at Franco. “Could you do that for me, Franco?”
“If you want me to.” He smiled. “An example … I think you’re right.”
“Franco,” Salazar said warningly.
“With your permission … sir.”
Franco was back in line, Salazar thought sourly, but he was clearly dazzled by Natalie and had been since the moment they had met. And Natalie wasn’t above using Franco if it suited her purpose. Hell, she wasn’t above using the devil himself. “An example might be beneficial. It might shake them up to realize how easily we can reach out and touch them. Go see what you can do.”
“Eve Duncan,” Natalie reminded Salazar softly. “Why not see what I can do, too?”
* * *
“Joe is on his way,” Eve said to MacDuff as she hung up the phone. “He just boarded a flight in Birmingham. He wants me out of here and in a safe house by the time he gets here.”
“And what do you want, Eve?”
“I want Cara safe.” She gazed out at the lake. It wasn’t only the lake that was misty today. The hills were draped, covered, in a suffocatingly heavy fog that was increasing every minute. “And, yes, I want to be safe, too. It’s important right now.” She looked back at him. “Have you found us a place?”
“Possibly. I’m exploring options. There’s a flat in the Old Town section of Edinburgh that should be safe.”
“Your men haven’t seen anything of Salazar yet?”
“I would have told you.” He added grimly, “Or you would have heard it. I guarantee that no one would get near you without our knowing it. Ned Colin is one of my best men, and I told him to call in at least eight or nine men to patrol those hills. There are four men just guarding the camp.” He turned away. “I’ve got one more place to check out near London. We should be able to get you on the road within a couple hours.” He frowned. “I hope. The weather forecast says this fog isn’t going to lift for hours. If it really socks in, it will be impossible to travel. I’ll try to get you moving right away.”
And she wasn’t helping anything by standing talking to him, Eve thought. She turned and strode back to her tent, where Cara was waiting.
“Joe’s on his way,” she told her. She glanced around the tent. “Everything seems to be packed up and ready. You’ve been very efficient.”
“There wasn’t much to pack. Not like when Elena and I had to move to a different city.” She went to stand by the door and looked out at the heavy fog. “It looks … strange, doesn’t it.”
“We’re just not used to the entire valley being foggy. Yes, it does look different.”
“Could I go outside for a little while? I won’t go far. I thought I’d go sit by the fire. I feel … closed in.”
“Sure. MacDuff says the camp is guarded. Want company?”
She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
Because she was sad and maybe a little scared. Or maybe she wanted to go talk to Jock again. “I’ll call you when MacDuff says we have to leave.”
She watched Cara disappear into the fog. She wished MacDuff would make a decision so that they could get out of here. She was as on edge as Cara.
It would be better when Joe got here.
Everything would be better when Joe was here.
He had said six hours. It seemed a lifetime right—
Her c
ell phone rang.
No ID.
She hesitated. “Hello.”
“Eve Duncan?” A woman’s voice, rushed, broken. “Tell me they didn’t lie to me again. You’re the one who has my daughter?”
Eve stiffened. “This is Eve Duncan. Who are you?”
“Natalie Castino. You have my Cara?”
Shock jarred through Eve. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Just tell me that she’s safe. That those horrible men haven’t hurt her.” She was sobbing. “They told me that they killed my Jenny but that Cara is still alive. But that she won’t be for very long if I don’t do what they say. We’ve got to save her.”
“What men are you talking about?” Eve asked cautiously.
“The people who kidnapped her. I think they have something to do with the leader of one of the rival cartels who hate my husband. But how could they do it? How could they hurt a child?”
The words and tone couldn’t have sounded more genuine, Eve thought. If Joe hadn’t told her about Natalie’s meeting with Salazar, she might have even believed her. What was Natalie trying to do? Play it cautiously. “It’s not a question of how, they obviously did kill Jenny. And you obviously have been told that there’s a threat to Cara. Suppose you tell me what’s happening?”
Natalie drew a shaky breath. “A few days ago, I received a telephone call and was told that my daughter Jenny had been killed and that Cara would also die unless I place four million dollars in an account in the Grand Cayman. My husband thought it was a scam and refused to pay, but my father agreed to transmit the funds if I could get them to prove they had Cara, and she could be safely extracted.” Her voice broke. “He meant he thought they might kill her anyway. They sent me a school picture of her in some kind of choir robe … She looks like me. But she’s so big now … My little girl is so big. My father said that photo didn’t prove anything except that she’d still been alive sometime this year. He wanted a current photo and to set up a release.” She drew a deep breath. “And then they told me that they didn’t have her after all, that you’d stolen her away from them.”
“If that’s true, then you should have been relieved.”
“Except they said that they would hunt her down and kill her. They said you’d taken her to Scotland, and they told me to come here and find a way to get them the money. Only they’re angry now, and they want more. They said you’d found some kind of treasure or something, and they want that, too. Is that true?”
Eve was silent a moment. “It seems that they’re well informed. What would they do if you refuse?”
“They told me it would only be days, maybe hours, before they either took Cara back or shot her. Please don’t let them do that.” She said in a rush, “My father looked you up, and he doesn’t think you’re part of this. You’re some kind of sculptor or something, and you’d care if my daughter was hurt or killed. I hope he’s right.”
“Yes, I would care very much.”
“Then help me, help us,” she said. “I beg of you. You’ve been told my husband is a terrible man, and I suppose I have to say he can be terrible in many ways. I guess I’m a little bitter toward him because he doesn’t seem to love our daughter as much as I do. But Cara shouldn’t suffer because of his sins. I’ve already been forced to lose my Jenny.”
So plausible. She was striking all the right notes. “We’ve been able to keep Cara safe so far. What makes you think we can’t continue?”
“Because they hate my husband, and the only thing that would make them stop hunting for Cara is that money.”
“And as soon as they had it, they’d kill her anyway.”
“Do you think I’m not afraid of that? That’s why I’m calling you. I want you to make a deal with Salazar. Tell him that you’ll turn Cara over to my father if he gives him the money. Maybe give him that other treasure thing, too. My father will send a helicopter to pick her up with two of his most trusted men.”
“And you?”
“Of course. I can’t wait to see her. Did you know in a few days it will be her birthday?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“It’s been so many years since I’ve been able to think of that day without tears. Has she ever spoken about me?”
“She doesn’t remember much about you. All she remembers is her sister and her nurse, Elena.”
“I guess I can’t expect anything else. But I’m still bitter about the fact that Elena never brought her back to me.”
“Bitter? She died saving Cara.”
“And I’m grateful, but she should have known I’d have found a way to protect all of them.” She paused. “But I have my chance now. I can save my Cara. If you’ll help me. Will you do that?”
What to answer? Eve’s mind was zooming, careening, as she tried to come up with the right thing to say. “I’m not certain if throwing my lot in with you is the right thing to do. One of the reasons that we took Cara away from the authorities in San Diego was that we didn’t want to put her in a situation where she’d be sent back to Mexico to face danger from all sides. I’m still not sure that wouldn’t happen. You say you love Cara, but you weren’t able to prevent her kidnapping. How can you assure me that it wouldn’t happen again?”
“Because my father would be involved. He loved his granddaughters. He wouldn’t let anything happen to Cara now that he knows there is a danger.”
Eve was silent. “Just what are you suggesting?”
“I contact Salazar and tell him that you’ve agreed to bring Cara to meet the helicopter my father will send with the ransom money. It will be your responsibility to get her to the helicopter safely, but once there, my father’s men will take over. He’ll whisk her away and you, too, if you wish. I understand that you’ve made yourself a target by interfering with Salazar.”
“You could say that,” she said dryly. “And we all fly away and live happily ever after?”
“Live is the key word,” Natalie said quietly. “I’ve learned to value those words in the past eight years. Will I permit you to interfere with my relationship with my daughter once she’s safe? I don’t promise you that. What mother would give up her child because an outsider thinks she knows better than she does how to raise her? You’ll have to do battle to get her back from me.”
“I don’t have to do battle, I still have Cara. The choice is mine.”
“But you won’t let her die, if you can help it. I can tell that you care about her … just as I do.” She rattled off a phone number. “You’ll make the right choice. Call me when you do.” She hung up.
Natalie Castino was a force to be reckoned with, Eve thought as she slowly hung up. She had gone through that conversation, pressing all the buttons, changing tone, altering character, as she went along.
If she was a killer, then she was an exceptionally clever one. If she was a grieving mother, fighting to keep her daughter alive, then she might have come up with a plan to do it. Yet Joe thought that she had helped Salazar to take the girls, and he was seldom wrong.
Still, they had no concrete proof of her involvement … except for the fact that Jenny had been buried in that white eyelet dress instead of her nightclothes. No sign that Natalie had been involved in MacTavish’s death. All those tears, the sobs, the agony, might be real, but in the end, Eve would have to make her own decision.
And that decision would not only concern Cara and her but everyone in this camp.
She got to her feet and left the tent and was immediately assaulted by waves of fog. She could dimly see Cara’s hazy figure sitting by the fire with Jock. What would she say if Eve told her that she’d just spoken to her mother?
She wasn’t ready to find out. She turned and headed for Jane’s tent.
* * *
“Did she believe you?” Salazar asked Natalie, as she hung up from talking to Eve Duncan. “I told you it was a waste of time. You should have stayed out of it.”
“It wasn’t a waste of time.” Natalie smiled. “I was plausib
le. I gave her something to think about. If you do your part and frighten her enough, she might run right toward me.”
“Toward us.”
“That’s what I meant, of course.”
“Of course. You mentioned that treasure MacDuff’s supposed to be hunting.”
“I just wanted to get a feel for her take on that chest. She didn’t laugh or ridicule the idea. MacTavish might have had it right.” She glanced at Franco. “You were very clever to dig that out of him.”
Franco nodded and smiled.
“A waste of time,” Salazar repeated.
“We’ll see. I certainly wouldn’t want to do that. I don’t want to spend any more time than necessary in these hills with those rather odorous men you’ve imported.” She glanced around the camp, then at the man tied and gagged across the fire from them. He was staring at her pleadingly. His face was bloody, and so was his throat. Franco had been playing with him after he’d captured him a few hours ago. She looked away from him and shrugged. “You gave me my chance. By all means, let me see what you can do, Salazar.” She got to her feet. “In the meantime, I’ll call my father and tell him how upset I am that I haven’t heard any more about ransom for my Cara.”
“You made two calls last night.”
“How suspicious you are. One to my father, one to my husband. My father to reinforce the myth, my husband to tell him how much I missed him and that I couldn’t wait to get home to him. One must always follow through with a lie and not let it just dangle in the wind.” She tilted her head. “But you knew that, didn’t you? You checked my phone after I went to sleep. One call to Moscow. One call to Mexico City. You just wanted to know why.” She added softly, “You don’t trust me, Salazar?”
“I’m not a fool. Our relationship is not based on trust.”
She threw back her head and laughed. “True.” She sauntered away from the fire. “It’s based on getting my sweet daughter back to me. And perhaps acquiring a few other gifts along the way.”
CHAPTER
13
“You don’t actually think Natalie Castino is genuine?” Jane asked quietly.
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